EyeWriter Initiative

This pretty fantastic thing came to my attention a few weeks ago that I meant to write about - but then got busy, or saw something shiny, or decided to have a snack or something. 

I was reading up on AdAge’s IDEA Conference and came across this Mick Ebeling character (founder of the Ebeling Group, they do cool stuff, check it). Other than being a general creative rockstar, Ebeling did this cool thing.

First, he created the Not Impossible Foundation. They describe themselves in the following way:

“The Not Impossible Foundation is an emerging non-profit organization comprising thinkers, dreamers, and doers. By fusing imagination and technology we are developing creative solutions to real-world problems. We believe in the collective good for the collective gain. It’s like the 60’s—but with the Internet, cell phones and Facebook.”

And the Not Impossible Foundation created the EyeWriter. Also labelled Project 001. 

I promise this is going somewhere. Ebeling and his bonanza of creativity (I decided this week I’m bringing back the word “bonanza,” go with it) created the above for Tempt1, a graffiti artist who was diagnosed with ALS in 2003. 

ALS is Amyotrphic Lateral Sclerosis, also commonly knows as Lou Gherig’s disease, also commonly known as something that has killed too many people I love. It’s a neurodegenerative disease that causes degeneration of the brain and spinal chord. The brain lacks the ability to initiate and control voluntary muscle movement. Basically, the body loses functionality while the rest of the brain remains fairly stable. If you are interested in learning more the book Tales From the Bed is a fantastic account of what experience with the disease is like. 

So this device allows Tempt1 to draw. WITH HIS EYES. Incredible, fascinating, inspiring.

Also - let it be known that I find eyeballs completely terrifying. Second only to tornadoes. Ok maybe third to tornadoes and commitment. But I watched the below in it’s entirety and it was worth the strange nightmare I’m sure I’ll have about at tornado of eyeballs chasing me towards a long term relationship. Right….anyway…watch this:

The Eyewriter from Evan Roth on Vimeo.

And marvel at the ability to span industries and individual motivations to create something that [fairly simply] changes a life. So the next time you’re sitting at your cube, listening to your internal monologue question how you can leverage your talents and abilities to do something bigger, realize it’s not quite that hard.

And then go draw something with your eyeballs, just because you can.